Don’t remember plot of movie but the guy in it would have flash backs of being left chained up/tied up or just locked up in a closet by his (abusive?) father while the town was evacuated because a new dam had been built and the town would go underwater.
I’m going to say I say this in the last 10 to 15 years (right around 2000 give or take), color and English.
In Dreams (1999) with Robert Downey, Jr.?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120710/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Is it possible you’re remembering Northfork? There’s a boy who’s ill, a priest taking care of him, and a mysterious father played by Nick Nolte.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322659/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1